Changes

I realize that I haven't updated for over three months. That usually just means I'm very busy, which is the truth.

I'm working both as a nanny and a tutor. I watch the kid three days a week and tutor my 9th grader a few nights a week.

I'm taking three classes. One meets every other Monday. The second meets every Tuesday, and the third meets every Thursday. I'm keeping up with assignments and papers and expect to get all 'As' again this Fall semester.

I'm also interning at Los Angeles Pierce Community College in the Honors Program office two days a week as part of my graduate school program. I need to complete 150 hours by the end of the semester.

Even though I'm not getting paid a dime for my work at Pierce, I am absolutely in love with the work I'm doing there. I get to meet individually with students and help them develop transfer plans. Most of them want to go to UCLA or CSUN, so I help them navigate the complicated process of picking a major, completing their major prep, keeping their grades up, fulfilling their IGETC requirements, and filling out the application. My background in English has been invaluable in helping them edit their personal statements for the UCs. I've led workshops and I'm co-leading a "Pierce to UCLA Transfer Support Group." I never really thought that I would like academic counseling because it seemed so straight-forward, but at the community college level it is anything but straight-forward. The variety of students is great--they are all in different stages of life; some work full time, some have children, some are married, some are still in high school, etc. The racial and ethnic diversity at the Pierce campus is also refreshing and valuable experience for me. I can honestly say that working at a community college as an academic counselor would be a dream job for me.

The other big news around the Vasquez household is that Fernando got a new job. He left his job as a plumbing salesperson at the Valencia Pacific Sales to take a position as an Assistant Buyer of Plumbing at the Pacific Sales corporate office in Torrance. While this means a significant raise for him, he is also committing to a significant commute to Torrance 5 days a week. It's close to 2 hours of driving each way! He carpools almost every single day, which eases the strain of driving so much and the cost of gas, but he is working under the assumption that after I graduate with my Master's degree in May, we'll be moving closer to Torrance.

The notion of moving to Orange County carries with it many possibilities, but it also comes with problems. The benefits are that Fernando will be closer to his job, and if he lives closer, he'll more likely be able to "climb the corporate ladder" at Pacific Sales. If we live in Orange County, we'll also be closer to Fernando's sister, Melissa. The cons are that we'll be moving away from our parents and most of our family here in Santa Clarita. We'll also have to figure out how to sell our house and find a new home in Orange County. I'll lose all my tutoring and nannying jobs/contacts. While I do hope to find a job that will utilize my new degree, I was hoping to lean on my part-time tutoring and nannying jobs to carry me while I go through the job search process. The market for counseling jobs is really tough.

It seems like there are more cons than pros in this situation, but the truth is that Fernando makes the significant percentage of our income, so moving closer to his work makes more sense. There are many, many schools I can work at in Orange County, and finding a home somewhere in between my job and Fernando's job would be ideal. I'm already poking around job listing websites and getting my resume up to snuff for the job search process. I want to seriously start looking for a job in March--after I take the comprehensive exam required for completion of my Master's, but a few months before graduation.

Thinking about all these upcoming changes kinda gets my head spinning, though, so I'm mostly focusing on completing my internship hours and finishing out my semester strong. My last day of class is on December 16, and then I have more than a month of winter break before Spring semester starts on January 24th. My last semester should be pretty easy, since I'm only taking two classes and doing my second internship at the Multicultural Office at California Lutheran University. I plan to double up my class days with my internship days to ease the commute out to Thousand Oaks. I'm going to continue to nanny for the kid and tutor my ninth grader next semester as well.

I am very much looking forward to the holiday season, although this year will be different without Vincent. We'll all have to work a little harder this year to be merry and bright, but being together will make it bearable.

~LOVE~

Our Little Bit of Summer

I'm in a totally different place right now than I was when I last wrote. Well, technically I'm in the same exact place, but I meant metaphorically. Summer school is over and I just confirmed that I had another 4.0 semester! I can't believe that I'm more than halfway done with my graduate school career. It's so strange to think that almost exactly a year ago I was just about to start grad school. I had just quit my full-time job, I was scrambling to get my financial aid in order, and I was anxiously awaiting the start of my new life. Now I'm working part-time and going to school full-time, and I'll be starting my first internship at Pierce College in less than a month. I'm really excited to see how this next school year goes. Even though thinking about scheduling 150 hours at my internship, 30-35 hours of "work" per weeks (tutoring and nannying), and three classes into my Fall semester is daunting, I'm super excited about staying busy. It will make the time go by quickly.

I'm enjoying my "summer vacation" right now. I have a month off from school before Fall semester starts again on September 2nd. Even though I'm still working, it makes a huge difference to have my evenings free. I've been watching movies, reading books, gardening, and playing with out new pet . . .That's right--we adopted a dog. She's a 5-year-old Border Collie/Australian Shepard mix that we adopted from the shelter. Because she is a working dog, we wanted to give her a "country" name. After a couple days of debating, we decided to name her "August." Her name at the shelter was "Duchess," so "August" sounds very similar. She's really smart--she already knows "sit," "lie down," "high five," and "stay." She also loves chasing tennis balls. She's been good on her leash so far, but she is very protective around other dogs.

She's a little spooky around men--it takes her a couple minutes to warm up to them, but she is very friendly around women and children. It might be awhile before we can take her to a dog park since she growls at other dogs. She might just be adjusting to her new environment and having a home and owners to protect. We know very little about her past, but when we got her she was COVERED in mats. It took three days of brushing, combing, and bathing, but she finally looks (and smells) good. She has chosen me as her favorite and she follows me around the house like a big cat. The other plus is she has shown very little interest in our chinchilla. We're able to keep Chipotle in her place of honor in the computer room and the dog doesn't bother her at all. We took August to the vet the day after we got her home and she has kennel cough. She's on antibiotics, but she's a little sneezy/wheezy still. Hopefully, she'll be feeling better soon.

I love having a dog around the house. She brings so much more purpose to our lives. Feeding her, grooming her, playing with her, and walking her keep both of us more active and conscious. And having a softly snoring dog in the room just brings a sense of peace when I'm alone--watching TV or reading or sipping coffee on the patio. Even though she is a bit "older," I think we still have many happy years with her ahead of us. Miss August Vasquez--our little bit of Summer.

On her ride home from the shelter

Her first night--kinda nervous

Day 3: Happy Dog

Her favorite toy so far

I love my new doggie!!

~LOVE~

Goings on . . .

It's been almost two months since I last updated. Sorry! My life has been super busy. As you saw in my previous post--I'm working and going to school 5 days a week, and my weekends are taken up with homework (reading), chores, and the occasional night out. The good news is, I'm halfway through my semester and only two weeks away from my week-long Spring Break. I've also been sick 4 times since Christmas, which is ridiculous. I was knocked out for two days strait this week with a nasty cold, but I'm finally feeling better.

Here are some pictures/recaps from our recent goings on:

Since I last updated, a few fun evenings have elapsed. In late January, Fernando and I drove down to the OC to attend Juan and Irais' housewarming party, and then spent the night at Fernando's sister's house. The next morning, we all went to brunch at the Cheesecake Factory with the gift card Fernando's other sister, Naomi, gave to us for Christmas. That was a fun trip.

This is the only picture I have from the housewarming. Fernando and I with our 'compadres', Gus and Alma. We call ourselves, Los Vasquez.

We attended an 80's themed birthday party for our new friend, Jen's, 25th birthday. Her boyfriend, Barry, is Fernando's boss/mentor at Pacific Sales. It was a fun night and everybody really went all out on their 80s costumes (including us).

Jen and Barry, our hosts for the night

Fernando and I dressed in our 80's costumes

My 26th birthday came and went. I had class on my actual birthday, but spent the rest of the weekend celebrating with family and friends. My parents took me out to dinner that Friday at the Lazy Dog Cafe, then I had a ton of friends meet me for drinks at The Lazy Dog Cafe afterwards. Tanya was in town from NYC that weekend, so my birthday was extra special. I was so happy to have so many friends come celebrate with me. I was running around like a madwoman all night socializing with everyone. Even though I had several drinks, I don't think I ever even got a buzz because I was running around so much! The next night, just Fernando and I went out for a fancy dinner at Craft (Tom Collichio's restaurant). The food was amazing and the service was even better. We ate veal sweetbreads for the first time and I think I can say that I'm a fan. I also managed to talk Fernando into trying a bite of diver sea scallop--and if you know Fernando, you know that is a feat since he HATES seafood. He actually liked the bite he ate and said it tasted "like bacon."

My family dinner

Fernando and I at the bar

Tanya and Emily joined me

My big sis made a surprise visit!

My girlfriends from "The Group"

Alma and Yvonne bought me this monster of a drink. I made them share with me.

After The Lazy Dog closed, we headed over to TGI Fridays to meet with the SFPS Crew. Here's me and Danny (he was my coworker and Winter Formal date in 11th grade)

Mark and me (he was my Senior Prom date). We go way back.

Fernando and I after we got home from Craft. I love my hubby!

Two weekends ago, Fernando, Gabe, and I took a random trip to San Luis Obispo just for fun. We stayed in a cheap hotel room not far from downtown (only $78 a night). We got into town around dinnertime on Saturday night, so we ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant in SLO, Poncho's. Afterwards, we went back to our hotel room to get dressed for a night out. Our first stop was at The Frog & Peach for some beers and live music. A really cute rock-a-billy band called Motel Drive was playing and we really liked their music. Then we moved across the street to Downtown Brew to meet Mona and Sonya and a couple other friends who were in town. Gabe had never been to downtown SLO before, and he really enjoyed the bars we took him to. The next morning, we stopped in Pismo Beach to visit mine and Fernando's "happy place"--Mo's BBQ. We walked on the pier a little bit. That was the weekend of the earthquake in Chile and the "tsunami" had done some interesting things to the shoreline at Pismo. Finally, we stopped off in Guadalupe to visit with Mona for a couple hours before heading home. Overall, a very fun 24 hour jaunt.

Fernando and Gabe--happy at the Frog & Peach

Me, Mona, and Sonya at Downtown Brew

Hubby and me at DTB

G-Money and me at DTB

Mo's AMAZING garlic fries. Drool-worthy.

Mo's BBQ sampler. Most of this came home with us.

Pismo Pier--look how far the water had receded

Fernando and I, of course

Okay, so I think that just about catches you up. Life is busy, but humming along. Fernando ordered his cap and gown for graduation this week. Getting pumped for that. I even went out and bought dresses already for Alma and Fernando's respective graduations. We filed our taxes early this year and already got our refund. We went ahead and bought two leather armchairs for our living room and they should be delivered on April 7th. I'm excited for those to arrive. We've also settled on some bookshelves for our living room's back wall. Once we install the shelves and get the chairs, our living room won't be so bare. We'll finally have someplace to put all our books and picture frames (still in boxes since we moved in LAST December). I'll definitely post pictures once everything is moved in.

~LOVE~

Spring Semester at CLU (and Beyond!)

Starting on Thursday, this will be my schedule until May 14th.

MONDAY: Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall; Organization & Administration in College Student Personnel 7-9:50pm at main CLU campus in Thousand Oaks.

TUESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall.

WEDNESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 7-9pm in Stevenson Ranch.

THURSDAY: Microskills in Counseling 4-6:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills; Lifespan Human Development 7-9:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills

FRIDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:15am-1:30pm in Castaic.

I'll have quite a busy schedule for the next four months. Three classes is "a lot" in my program, but I am determined to get these classes done this semester to keep me on track to start my Practicum in Fall 2010. The good news is that my Microskills class is Pass/Fail, and the following Lifespan Human Development class is a survey class. They are both taught by the same instructor, Valerie Wallace, who was my teacher last semester for Counseling Theory and Practice. I'm familiar with her teaching style and I know how to do well in her class. All of her assignments require writing, and that is my strength. (Did I mention that I got all 'A's last semester?) My Monday class should be interesting because it is specific to my program (as opposed to offered to both Pupil Personnel Services [k-12] students and College Student Personnel students). I'm excited to take this class with Dr. Juanita Hall because she is the Senior Director of CLU's Multicultural and International Programs, and she was also recently named the Assistant to the President for Diversity at CLU. She is coming from a background of doing what I really want to do, and I'm sure she'll have plenty of good information and advice for me.

I'll have to be diligent to get my reading, studying, and homework assignments done during my "free time" on Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday afternoons, Thursday mornings, Friday afternoons, and weekends. I'll also have to commit to getting to bed early on nights before watching Chelsea. I've been pretty bad at it since I started, and I have a terrible time getting ready in the mornings and I'm usually so tired by the end of the day that I require a nap. Of course, the naps cut into my "study" time and end up making it hard for me to fall asleep that night, which just perpetuates the cycle for the next day. Not cool.

My spring semester ends on May 14th, which also happens to be the day of Alma's graduation from USC with her Master's in Social Work. I've been editing Alma's papers since she started her MSW (actually, since she was doing her Bachelor's in Social Science at Cal Poly . . .), so she has asked me to be there at her graduation. I feel very honored that she asked me to attend. She was definitely one of my biggest cheerleaders when I was applying to grad school, so I am happy to see her complete her studies.

Just a week after Alma's graduation, on May 20th, Fernando will be walking in CSUN's graduation ceremony. My parents have graciously offered to throw Fernando a graduation party that weekend. I think we'll have it at my parents' house--in their backyard--so we can enjoy the good weather at that time of year. My parents suggested getting it catered by one of those "taco guys," and Fernando has mentioned wanting to have a bounce house. I guess I'll have to look into how much that might cost and that can be my gift to him (if he really is serious about a bounce house!).

I have a month long break between the end of CLU's spring semester and start of CLU's summer session. The summer session is only 6 weeks long, and I want to take two classes. Most classes meet twice a week, so there is a possibility I might have class 4 nights a week. I'm HOPING that both classes I want to take will be offered back-to-back on the same two nights (M/W or T/Th) so I can save money on the commute and still have time to tutor and watch Chelsea. My old boss at ATM contacted me asking me if I could work one day a week during my break. She is due to have her baby in early/mid May, so I could help her out around the office since she'll be working from home for the first few weeks after having her baby. I told her yes, because the money will be helpful, and I'll have nothing else to do during that break other than watch Chelsea three days a week and tutor Elizabeth 4 hours a week. We'll see how everything pans out.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I suppose I should at least create a photo update regarding my Christmas and New Years holiday adventures. That'll be my next post.

~LOVE~

Pictures: October, November, Decemeber 2009

So, this is going to be a VERY photo-heavy post. You have been warned!

My new tattoo

Seattle trip (October 23-25)--right after we landed at SEA-TAC

The Crew: Mona, Kenia, Adriana, Danny, and me (at Pike Place)

Before heading out to the club--we had a private table and bottle service

The next morning we had brunch in the Space Needle's revolving restuarant

Us in front of the Space Needle

Beer Sampler at The Pike Brewery

I made Fernando's Halloween costume this year

Fernando and our roomie Gabe carving pumpkins

We're an odd couple

We went to a Halloween party at Brett's house

Brett and Stevie--our hosts for the evening

Mona's 26th Birthday Party in SLO--me and Laurie before heading out

Bottle Service at Native Lounge in downtown SLO

I love my sisters!

Alma and I. How I love my comadre.

Super cute pic of me and the birthday girl

The next day was Founder's Day for my sorority. Here's a group picture.

I got a haircut a couple days before Thanksgiving

Our turkey from Thanksgiving. My hubby made it :)

This is Chelsea, the little girl I nanny for

Fernando and I went to see Zane Lamprey perform stand-up on December 10th

I told you this was going to be photo-heavy! If you made it this far--congratulations, you're all caught up~

~LOVE~

School Nights

School has finally begun full swing. Fernando started classes almost a month ago, so he is out of the house Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights attending classes. This is his last semester. He is technically also doing an internship this semester, but his "intership" is "gaining management experience" at his current day job at Pacific Sales. This isn't requiring that much more work than Fernando was already doing--he was already on tract for management training. After his finals in Decemeber, Fernando will be an official college graduate--long time coming but worth the wait! CSUN doesn't have a ceremony for winter graduates, so Fernando won't be walking in his cap and gown until May 2010, but he will be walking. Hopefully we can throw a little party for him then. When I met Fernando over seven years ago, he wasn't serious about school. He'd been out of high school for three years and he only have a few COC credits to his name. I'm proud of all his hard work. I don't know if he went back to school just for me, but I know he now knows the importance of his education and appreciates all his hard work over the past five years to get his bachelor's degree.

I have finally attended at least one session of each of my three classes. My classes were slow to start because the first day of classes was the Thursday before Labor Day, and my Tuesday class only meets every other Tuesday. My current schedule seems very manageable-the only downer is the long commute to and from classes three nights a week.

Above: A picture of me being a dork and showing off my "back to school" look.

My Monday night class meets from 4:00-6:50pm on the main campus in Thousand Oaks. The name of the class is Programs and Functions in College Student Personnel. This class seems like it will be my most "fun" as it is most directly related to my specialization. Some of the assignments include attending a few student life events at a few different college campuses and reporting on them, interviewing student affairs professionals at a few campuses and reporting on them, and developing a new student affairs program in groups and doing a final paper/presentation to the class.

My Tuesday night class, which meets only 2 Tuesdays a month, meets from 7:00-9:50pm on the main campus. This class is called Tools for Research, Practice, and Professional Development. As far as I can tell, this class is going to mostly be a joke. The instructor is a recent graduate from the same program as me (although he is PPS, not CSP--which means he specializes in jr. high/high school students). The job of the class is to teach us APA style, how to search databases, how to use Excel, and how to use PowerPoint. Our projects are a short paper that synthesizes the findings of 2 or 3 peer reviewed articles, written in APA style, and then a PowerPoint presentation done in groups. The only new thing I'm learning is APA style, but the teacher is teaching us APA style by making us watch a 20 minute internet video about it. Also, this teacher told the class that magazine articles from "respected and trusted magazines like Time" count as peer-reviewed journal articles. Again. What . . . a joke. Well, at least it's an easy 'A'.

Finally, my Thursday class is called Counseling Theory and Practice and meets 7:00-9:50pm on the Woodland Hills Graduate Center. The building is really cute--a grouping of classrooms centered around a "lounge," which is a room with two tables, a microwave, a coffee maker, and a soda machine. I can bring my dinner with me and heat and eat there! Anyway--this will probably be my hardest class. It's mostly theory with a little practice thrown in. My instructor is a little cooky, but I've found that most psych instructors are. Our main assignments include a review of a journal article about a multi-cultural counseling issue, a short paper where we apply 14 different counseling theories to the same population of students, and finally, a large 8 page research paper about one of the theories from class, which also requires us to do a 15 minuite long PowerPoint presentation to the class about the theory and a demonstration of one the counseling techniques from that theory. I've been assigned "Feminist Theory." There is also going to be a take-home final which we'll have to write short written responses to a few prompts.

So that about wraps up what school is all about for the Vasquez clan. Other than school, life is going well for us. I'm tutoring like a mad woman and am actually in the middle of attempting to get a part-time nanny position. I've already had a successful phone-interview with the mother, and she wants to set up a time for me to meet her, her husband, and their daughter in person. The daughter is almost 2 years old, so if hired, I will probably be going through potty-training with her (fun!). I'd have to wake up super early and be in Castaic by 6:30AM three days a week. But, the benefits of a nanny position are it'll be fun, educational (at least for me), and I can use naptimes as study time. Also, more income that is tax free. Fernando is excited for fall because his beloved football has returned to TV, and Fernando spends several hours a week monitering his fantasy football league teams. That's right, I said teams, with an "s."

I took some pictures of the main Cal Lutheran campus the last tmie I was there, so maybe I'll share those with you soon. Until then . . .

~LOVE~

What I've Done (So Far) On My Summer Vacation

My life has been pretty eventful for the last month. Since I last posted, I've:

Put my two week notice in at work

Attended two No Doubt concerts--one with Mona, the other with Elena

Registered for classes at Cal Lutheran

Trained my ex-boss' husband how to do my job

Hosted my friend Danny (from SF) and his friend, Ester (from Spain) at my house while they visited LA

Had my last day at work, where I left in a blaze of glory (Company lunch of El Pollo Loco and lots of well wishes)

Traveled to San Diego with my husband to celebrate his 28th birthday--hit up Phil's BBQ, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and Stone Brewery

House-sat for my parents while they camped in Sequoia

Drove all the way to Glendale to get a haircut with Tanya

Spent a day with Alma and Gus at the pool--then Fernando joined us for a BBQ and a couple rounds of Loteria and Dominoes

Went out for a drink with Neda for her birthday

And here is some proof of my adventures:

We took Danny and Ester to a wine bar because Ester really wanted to try California wine

I had wine (of course), but Fernando had beer (of course)

Fernando and I at Phil's BBQ in San Diego for his birthday dinner

After dinner, we went for drinks with our host for the evening, Evy

My new haircut

Well, that's about all I can update you on for now. I promise to write again soon, hopefully after my first week of classes at Cal Lutheran. My first day is September 3rd!

~LOVE~